Bariliine fishes are important components of the ornamental as well as subsistence fishery sectors in India. Many of the species in the genus Barilius are threatened by habitat loss and therefore need to be met with conservation initiatives. Effective conservation measures, however, require clarification of species identities and resolution of the validity of many species currently treated as synonymous or sub-species. The complete mitochondrial genome data provide better insight into phylogenetic information than the short fragment or single gene based analysis. Thus, we have sequenced the complete mitochondrial genome of Barilius malabaricus, one of the important fish species in the fresh water ornamental sector, for better understanding its phylogenetic status. The 16,519 bp mitochondrial genome consists of 37 genes which classifies as 22 tRNA, 13 protein coding and 2 ribosomal RNA genes and a control region. Overall, the mitochondrial genome bears the typical gene order and composition as in other fishes. Further, the COI, cytochrome b and 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that, B. malabaricus is genetically closer to B. canarensis and B. bakeri compared to other Barilius species. Also, the Barilius species of west flowing rivers in Western Ghats were consistently recovered as a clade distinct from other species. We therefore suggest to retain the genus name Barilius for the species from the Western Ghats until a comprehensive analysis based on both morphological and molecular markers reveals the relationship between species now variously placed in the genera Barilius and Opsarius in greater detail.

巴里宁鱼是印度观赏和自给渔业的重要组成部分。Barilius属中的许多物种都受到栖息地丧失的威胁，因此需要采取保护措施。但是，有效的保护措施需要澄清物种身份，并解决目前被视为同义或亚物种的许多物种的有效性。完整的线粒体基因组数据比基于短片段或单基因的分析提供了更好的系统发育信息。因此，我们已经测序了淡水观赏鱼中重要鱼类之一的青苹果（Barilius malabaricus）的完整线粒体基因组，为了更好地了解其系统发育状况。16519 bp的线粒体基因组由37个基因组成，分为22个tRNA，13个蛋白质编码和2个核糖体RNA基因以及一个控制区域。总体而言，线粒体基因组具有其他鱼类一样的典型基因顺序和组成。此外，COI，细胞色素b和16S rRNA基因序列显示，B.带石斑鱼是遗传上更接近B. canarensis和B. bakeri相比其他Barilius物种。此外，西高止山脉西部流河的巴里利乌斯物种一直作为不同于其他物种的进化枝被回收。因此，我们建议保留属名称Barilius从西高止山脉的物种，直到同时基于形态学和分子标记的综合分析表明，物种之间的关系，现在不同置于属Barilius和Opsarius更详细。